August sees the birthday of my mother, an annual event that our family comes together to celebrate in one way or another.

We have had a rather turbulent year so my brother and I felt it was necessary to take my mother and father away for a birthday celebration as a family. After a good trawl of the internet we decided to visit Oxford. As my brother has two young children it was necessary to consider a family room, ideally with some facilities to keep the children entertained, so we found ourselves at Holiday Inn Oxford.

Booking

I booked the hotel at www.holidayinn.co.uk as part of their summer promotion. The rate was half price at £49 a night including breakfast which for Oxford in the heart of summer was cheap. The credit crunch certainly has provided us with LOTS of bargains!

Once booked I received an e-mail confirmation and all was completed.

Arrival

The hotel is based outside oxford just off the A34. It is at the Peartree interchange, which is adjacent to one of the city’s main park and rides, providing easy access to the city. Oxford is notorious difficult to park in so the park and ride is actually a blessing considering the hotel provides free parking.

I will admit, first impressions are not great. My mother thought we were taking her to the motorway services for a weekend as the hotel is located just off the dual carriageway accompanied by a petrol station and a burger king. Not a glamorous location by any means, but certainly convenient.

Check In

The lobby is large and there is plenty of space to wait whilst checking in. When I approached the desk, I was greeted by a very stern receptionist, who was efficient but managed to rub me up the wrong way. She was cold and didn’t even crack a smile. The documents were thrown at me and I was given my room card. I didn’t feel very welcomed.

The Room

The hotel has three main room categories, standard, executive and suite.

The rooms we had booked were all standard and from what I understand the executive rooms gave you bathrobes, mineral water and a few more treats but nothing to write home about!

The hotel was relatively modern and the rooms were in good condition. They had a contemporary style and were typical Holiday Inn carbon copy hotel rooms. Everyone a replica of the other.The room was fitted with the following,

• A double bed with average linen. There was a pillow selection menu allowing you to order your favourite pillow from reception. The bed on the whole was comfortable but the mattress was a bit hard.
• 32” LCD TV with full selection of satellite channels and on-demand movies.
• Wired broadband connection @ £15 per day. STEEP!
• International telephone
• Tea Tray and an empty minibar which could be stocked should you wish or used as a refrigerator.
• Trouser Press
• Writing desk and seating area.
• Large built in wardrobe.

The bathroom was an average size and the water pressure was strong. The towels were very average and you needed to use two to ensure you got dry after a good shower. You could have probably seen through the fabric once it was wet! Standard toiletries were provided but again the quality of these was nothing to write home about.Overall it was a very normal Holiday Inn hotel room. It was fit for purpose but a few tweaks could have made it much better.

Restaurant/Bar

The hotel has a restaurant and a bar.

The restaurant sits at the rear of the hotel and serves traditional European dishes. Although we did not eat here it was certainly busy and the diners appeared to be having a good time. I did hear one customer complaining but his reasoning didn’t seem that valid and I didn’t really take his complaint that serious. It all appeared a fuss over nothing and I felt embarrassed for him rather than the staff!

The hotel bar was very normal. It sat next to the reception and was very open plan, I felt more like I was in an airline holding area waiting to board a plane rather than enjoying my dinner! There was a wide enough selection of drinks and beers and the prices were not that inflated for a hotel. Overall it wasn’t a bad bar, just not that great either!

Facilities

The hotel can cater for a wide variety of events and has conference rooms, available for events should they be required. Given the location of the property I imagine in the week it is busy with business travelers whilst full of tourists to Oxford on the weekend.

The hotel has a health club which provides gymnasium, pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi, free of charge to all guests. After a good night out on the Saturday this was great fun with the kids on the Sunday morning after breakfast and we all had a lot of fun. There was no frowning from the other guests as the kids splashed around and we all felt comfortable unlike some more sophisticated properties where children are not so readily tolerated!

The hotel also has a large car park outside which again, is free for in house guests.

Breakfast

Breakfast was served in the restaurant and there was a huge buffet selection of both continental and English breakfast items. Served between 7am and 11am there was plenty of time to take the breakfast. The quality of food was good and it managed to quell my hunger before my swim!

Check out

Check out was at 12 noon and after returning to the reception desk my bill was presented by a more friendly clerk than the one who checked me in and was settled with ease. Our weekend in Oxford was over and I would certainly consider returning again.

Summary

If you are looking for a good location for Oxford then the Holiday Inn is certainly worth considering. Although not in the city centre, the location is close enough and you will save money compared to a city centre property.

Everything about the property is very Holiday Inn. You will not be wowed but you will have a comfortable stay and to be fair for the price, who can really complain?

If you want to explore Oxford with or without a family then give the Holiday Inn a chance.

Stay completed August 2009. Stay booked at www.holidayinn.co.uk

Enjoy your stay!